How to Help Kids Eat Healthy: Karen Le Billon

At AllergyKids, we know that diet is a lot like religion, it is not a “one-size-fits-all” kind of thing, especially when you are juggling the nutritional needs of children with different food allergies. So when we heard about the work of Food Hero, Karen, Le Billon, we were thrilled, as she is doing something that so many of us dream of: getting real kids to eat real food. She shares her tips and insight below.

Your Go-to food that you can’t live without: Fresh baguette! And avocado. Not necessarily together.

What characteristic do you most admire in a person? Honesty

What do you most deplore? Laziness

What is your best trait? Persistence (it can also be my worst trait!)

Which person living or dead would you most like to have a meal with? Do I have to pick only one? Mahatma Gandhi and Rachel Carson.

What would you serve? Local food from our hometown (Vancouver). Right now, we’d have halibut or salmon (lentils, for Gandhi!) and kale, early spring greens, local cheese from Salt Spring Island, and I’d pull some frozen blueberries out of our freezer to make a pie.

What trait do you most deplore in our food? Over-processing: a symptom of a broken food system.

If you could deliver five words to Congress, what would they be? Healthy, scratch-cooked school lunches: NOW!

If the USDA asked you to replace the word “Organic,” what word would you use? Biodynamic. It’s the new ‘organic’!

If you were a piece of food, what would you be? A leek: long and skinny, a little spicy, and deceptively mild-looking.

What is your current state of mind? Calm & contented – except when I’m energetic and exuberant.

What is your motto? “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” And “when you know better, you do better” (Maya Angelou)